October 12, 2018

List of clergy
credibly accused
of sexual abuse
of minor or young
person is released

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis is committed to protecting children and ensuring that the tragedy of sexual abuse never happens again in the Archdiocese. In the spirit of further accountability and transparency, the Archdiocese is providing this list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or young person.

“I pray the release of this list of credibly accused clergy will help all survivors of sexual abuse find the strength to come forward and will set them on the path to healing,” said the Most Reverend Charles C. Thompson, Archbishop of Indianapolis. “I apologize to all victims for the abuse that was done to them and for the failure of the Church to keep them from harm. I pledge to do everything within my power to protect our youth.”

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis reports all abuse allegations it receives to Indiana’s Child Protective Services and criminal investigators, as required by law, and encourages all victims to contact civil authorities.

The list of clergy deemed to have at least one credible claim of abuse involving a child or adolescent includes 19 priests for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and 4 priests who were members of religious orders who served in the Archdiocese dating back to the 1940s. Since 1940, at least 940 priests and 68 deacons have served in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

The list of credibly accused clergy is based on the recommendation of the Archdiocesan Review Board, which is composed of five lay persons and one clergy member. The current and past members of the Archdiocesan Review Board hold or have held positions in law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office, child protective services, primary education, childhood development, social work, practice of law, and psychology, including neuropsychology.

An allegation of sex abuse of a child or young person was deemed credible if, after a thorough investigation and review of available information, the accusation was determined to be more likely to be true than not in the judgment of the Archdiocesan Review Board.

Update (12/18/2018): The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has published an amended list of the priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. One Archdiocesan priest and four religious order priests within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have been added to the list.

Subsequent to the publication of the original list, one additional victim of sexual abuse of a minor has come forward in the case of George Peter Ziemer, who previously was on the list of those priests who had single claim made after they were deceased, but was previously unable to be substantiated.

The additional names include the four religious order priests who ministered in the Archdiocese when the abuse occurred (Michael E. Dorrler, SJ; Werner Holzer, OFM; Thomas Aquinas Schaefers, OSB; and Charles E. Sullivan, SJ) and were made known to the Archdiocese by their respective religious communities after the initial list was published, and are hereby included in the updated list.

Resigned from the priesthood (1995); dispensed from the clerical state on 11/17/2014.

Samuel Thomas Curry

7

6/6/1970

1970s

Priest deceased (2/7/1991) before abuse reported.

Albert Vincent Deery

23

5/17/1921

Late 1950s thru early 1970s

Priest deceased (8/25/1972) before abuse reported.

Jack F. Emrich

1

1/17/1998

Mid-1970s

Removed from priestly ministry (2003); deceased (12/9/18).

Donald J. Evrard

5

5/3/1956

1977, 1985

Removed from priestly ministry (1998); deceased (12/27/2008).

Micheal Howard Kelley

2

6/1/1985

1990, 1992

Removed from priestly ministry (2003).

Joseph Stanley Kos

3

5/1/1966

Mid-1980s

Priest deceased (8/9/2000).

Laurence Michael Lynch

1

5/3/1960

1972-1973

Resigned from priestly ministry (1979); deceased (7/17/2009).

John S. Maung

3

5/1/1963

1993-1997

Removed from priestly ministry (2018).

Harold E. Monroe

16

6/8/1974

1976-1982

Removed from the priesthood (1984); dispensed from the clerical state on 4/8/2011.

Eugene Jack Okon

4

12/18/1970

1974

Resigned from priestly ministry (2003); deceased (11/29/2012).

Roger Gerard Rudolf

1

6/6/1992

1987-1988

Removed from priestly ministry (2002); dispensed from the clerical state on 5/11/2015.

Frederick Adam Schmitt

3

5/11/1959

1973-1974

Priest deceased (12/30/1988) before abuse reported.

John Bernard Schoettelkotte

5

5/3/1960

1964-1967

Removed from priestly ministry (2003).

Myles Hale Patrick Smith

3

7/25/1970

1976-1988

Removed from priestly ministry (2003); deceased (5/2/2012).

Jonathan Lovill Stewart

1

6/1/1991

1993

Removed from priestly ministry (2003).

George Peter Ziemer

2

6/10/1919

1955-1957

Priest deceased (4/26/1980) before abuse reported; Additional victim came forward in November 2018; recommended by the Archdiocesan Review Board as credible 11/13/18.

Religious Order Priests

Name of Priest

Number of Victims

Date of Ordination

Reported Time Period of Abuse

Action Taken

Michael E. Dorrler, SJ

1

*

1990-1993

Removed from priestly ministry by the USA Midwest Province; reported to the Archdiocese, November 2018.

Brennan Harris, OFM Conv.

1

1969

1971

Removed from priestly ministry by the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation; deceased (1985).

Werner Holzer, OFM

1

*

1978-1979

Priest Deceased (1990) before abuse reported; Additional information was provided after publication of the list; recommended by the Archdiocesan Review Board as credible, 11/13/2018

Bernard Knoth, SJ

1

1977

1987

Reported to USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus; dispensed from the clerical state.

Donald O’Shaughnessy, SJ

2

1955

1965

Removed from priestly ministry by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus; deceased (7/8/2013).

Roman Pfalzer, OFM

2

1947

1953-1954

Removed from priestly ministry by the Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist; deceased (12/26/2011).

Thomas Aquinas Schaefers, OSB

1

*

Early 1940’s

Priest Deceased (5/22/1942) before reported to the Diocese of Evansville in 2010; reported to the Archdiocese, November 2018.

Charles E. Sullivan, SJ

1

*

1958-1959

Deceased 9/13/1996; Reported to the Archdiocese, December 2018.

*Ordination dates of religious order clergy are not always known by the Archdiocese because they are ordained elsewhere. Should you require further information concerning any clergy of a religious order, please contact the superior of the religious order.

The following priests of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have a single claim deemed credible which involved a vulnerable adult, age 18, who was an adolescent when at least the emotional aspects of the relationship began. They are Patrick Andrew Doyle and Karl Joseph Miltz. A more detailed list is below:

Name of Priest

Number of Victims

Date of Ordination

Reported Time Period of Abuse

Action Taken

Patrick Andrew Doyle

1

6/7/1975

1987

Removed from priestly ministry
(2018).

Karl Joseph Miltz

1

5/24/1969

1974

Resigned from priestly ministry (1998); dispensed from the clerical state on 12/6/2005.

The following clergy have a single claim of abuse made against them reported to have occurred in the 1940s and 1950s and which was received by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis after the priests were deceased and unable to offer a defense of the accusation. No claims were made while they were alive. Although there was no way to substantiate the claims being made against the deceased clergy, the Archdiocesan Review Board recommended, out of an abundance of caution and transparency, to include their names on the list below: John Stanley Kramer, William Kreis, and James Joseph Shanahan. A more detailed list is below:

Name of Priest

Number of Victims

Date of Ordination

Reported Time Period of Abuse

Action Taken

John Stanley Kramer

1

3/3/1944

1947-1952

Priest deceased (1/28/1986) before accusation reported.

William Kreis

1

5/28/1904

1944-1946

Priest deceased (3/10/1954) before accusation reported.

James Joseph Shanahan

1

5/27/1947

1958

Priest deceased (11/14/1992) before accusation reported.

The above lists will be updated if new credible claims or evidence of sexual abuse of a minor are determined.

If you are a victim of sexual abuse or sexual harassment by a person ministering on behalf of the Church, or if you know of anyone who has been a victim of such misconduct, please contact civil authorities and the Archdiocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator, Carla Hill, at (317) 236-1548, or (800) 382-9836, ext. 1548, or by
e-mail at carlahill@archindy.org. To make a report online, please visit www.archdioceseofindianapolis.ethicspoint.com.